Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-01-01
The south's Progress.

Baltimore, Dec. 28.-In its annual
review Of the industrial progress of
the South, the Baltimore Manufacture
ers' Record, in this weeks issue, will
say that 1886 has been the most re-
markable year in many respects in
the history of the Southern States
and more has been accomplished for
the prosperity and progress of the
whole South than ever before in any
year. This is shown in the enormous
investments of capital in industrial
enterprises and in the growth of con-
fidence among Northern and Europe
an investors in the stability of the
South's iron and other manufacturing
interests. The amount of capital, in
Guiding capital stock of incorporated
companies, represented by the new
manufacturing and mining enterpris-
es organized or charted in the South
during 1886, including the, enlarge
ment ofold plants and rebuilding of
mills aggregate $129, 226,OO9 against
$3.50, S12,0 900 in 1885.
The iron interests have attracted
the greater share of attention, and
some gigantic enterprise have been
organized, and are now building
furnaces. The Tennessee Coal, Iron
& Railroad Company, with capital
of $40, OOO,OOO, have five furnaces in
operation, and are building five more,
besides coke ovens, and opening new
coal mines. The Sloss Iron & Steel
Company with an investment of. So
100000 has two furnaces now, and
have given contracts for two more,
and will also build steel plant. The
Birmingham Furnace & Manufactur-
ing Company, with capital of ST.
100000, has just been organized by
Pennsylvania capitalists to build two
furnaces. Five furnaces are to be
built at Sheffield, three at Florence,
two at Bessemer, and several at other
places. The aggregate of new fur
naces reported for the year were
twenty-eight, most of them from 100
to $50 tons daily capacity. One Bes-
semer steel rail mill is nearly finished,
one Bessemer plant has been COM
pleted, one is under way, bids
have been invited for the construction
of another, and several other steel
plants have been decided upon.
Other interests as well as iron, how
ever, are being rapidly developed and
included in the list ofnew enterprises
organized in the South during 1886
were: Twenty-eight iron furnaces,
fifty ice factories, sixty-eight founder
les and machine shops, many of them
of large size, one Bessemer steel rail
mill, twenty miscellaneous iron
works, including iron pipe works,
bridge and bolt works and eight stove
foundries, twenty gas works, thirty
four electric light companies, eleven
agricultural implement factories, ia
mining and quarrying enterprises,
sixteen carriage and wagon factories,
nine cotton mills, twenty-five furni-
ture factories, forty-two water works,
fifty-eight tobacco factories, ninety.
two flour mills, 448 lumber mills,
(not counting small portable saw
mills) including saw and planning
mills, sash and door factories, stave,
handle, single, hub and spoke
shuttle block factories, ETC., in addi
ton to which there w9s a large
number of miscellaneous enterprises
One of the most gratifying features o.
the South's industrial progress, says
the Manufacturers Record, is the
wide diversity Of new industries that
are developing all through that
section.